


If You Wish To Be Loved

by Rikkitikitavi



Category: riptide (book)
Genre: M/M, god how do i use this site, got a couple of genuine gay boys here, love potion, no one - Freeform, no one is straight in space thomas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-11-13 02:53:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11175501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkitikitavi/pseuds/Rikkitikitavi
Summary: Ezekiel wants people to love sharks again, but when he spills the potion on his friend it doesn't go as planned. Nick ends up head over heels for Thomas, much to Thomases chagrin. Why does it always have to be Something with these people? Why can he never just Work. Now they'll have to wait Years for Zeke to create an antidote.





	1. The Beginning

“Remind me why my dear sweet aroace brother is creating a love potion?” Jay asked. He was lazing haphazardly on the edge of the bed, watching Ezekiel work on the floor. He spent years creating it, perfecting it. He wouldn’t even let Jay play with it after.

 

“I’m going to make everyone love sharks.” Zeke said, blowing a bit of hair out from his eyes. It was the only time he pulled his hair up out of his eyes, when he was working. Jay always thought it was a shame, seeing as he had the most bewitching eyes out of the three. They say looks could kill, Zeke’s eyes could cause genocide. Rikki jokes that they probably have already. “And you know I’m about as sweet as your morning coffee.”

 

Jay rolled his eyes. “It’s gonna be a long task to make _everyone_ love sharks.”

 

“I don’t need to use it on _everyone_. Just a few people.” Zeke muttered, lifting up a dark purple liquid. It had bits of black and pink magic swirling around in it, restless and waiting. “Influencers.”

 

“Right.” Jay sighed and rolled off the bed, standing up and adjusting his clothes. “Well I’m off to do something fun.” 

“Digimon isn’t fun for anyone besides you and Kasi, Jay.” Zeke poked fun. Jay stuck his tongue out at Zeke before leaving.

_**___** _

 

“I’m not going to let you use that on Shigeru Miyamoto, that’s ridiculous.” Thomas deadpanned. Ezekiel had come in to talk to Cecelia, who would have gladly gone along with this ridiculous plan. Thankfully she was in a meeting, so he approached Thomas instead.

 

“But what ab-”

 

“No, Ezekiel. Our clients are here not only for work, but for safety. We don’t want them accosted by random weirdos. Is that even tested?”

 

“Well...” Zeke gave the same lopsided smile the Blacksmith’s always do when they’re trying to get away with some shittily put together plan. Thomas gave a sigh, rubbing his temples. Wasn’t Nick supposed to be bringing coffee? Where was he? God, he needed to finish these forms. How to get Zeke out of there...? “Zeke, start small. Test it on some people in town or something first. Then we’ll talk about it.”

 

“Aye, aye, sir.” Zeke gave a mock salute before heading for the door. As he reached for the door, it swung open. Nick was on the other side, a tray of coffee in hand.

 

What happened next felt like the slowest moment of Thomas's life. Nick didn't see Ezekiel, what with him being a beanpole and Zeke a hobbit. Zeke was never a fast person to react. He ran into Nick, spilling not only the coffee, but the potion on him as well. Thomas hoped it was a potion that only worked when ingested as he rushed over with a cloth and tide cleaner. He kept cleaning supplies under his desk, just in case. There was always a case in which he needed to clean his office with these people around. He made sure Zeke was okay before turning to Nick. He made an offhand comment and apology, saying he would cover the cost of a new shirt and coffee. Instead of the usual quip bordering on flirtatiousness however, Thomas was met with silence. He risked a glance up. Nick was just staring at him fondly, a purple glint to his pale eyes. Thomas hoped it was a new form of contacts he was trying. Often with these people around his hopes were diminished.

_**___** _

 

"What do you mean there's no cure?" Thomas asked, voice raising. He had sent Nick off to get more coffee, and brought together an emergency meeting of the group. Sans Nick of course. Rikki, Jay, and Ezekiel all sat at one end of the table. Tarrin and Cecelia were in the kitchen preparing some fruit for everyone. Well Cecelia was, Tarrin was following behind her, distracting her. Everyone was amused by the situation. If Thomas didn't just get an entire workload, and a new gig arising, he was sure he would be too. Right now, he was way too stressed for their shenanigans, and asked Ezekiel to fix it... Only to find there was no way to fix it yet.

 

"I hadn't even tested this one to see if it worked." Zeke shrugged. "I didn't plan for anyone to stop anyways."

 

"I don't see what's so bad." Rikki shrugged. "He was always flirting with you before anyways. It's just his default setting."

 

"It's different now. He's... Weird." Softer. It creeped Thomas out. He could deal with the suave one-liners and the weird anime thing where he trapped him against a wall. He wasn't doing any of that anymore. He was distant and calm and it was odd. It had only been a few hours though. Maybe it's just an initial effect? Ugh. "Zeke, how long will an antidote take?"

 

"I dunno..." Zeke shrugged. "It took about a million years to make that one. Probably the same for an antidote." No. "Maybe longer..."

 

God no.

 

"Well there's no use fretting, is there?" Cecelia said, sitting down beside Thomas, offering some grapes. "I mean if he hasn't been all too forward then a few hundred years shouldn't be that bad."

 

"I suppose." Thomas gave a resigned sigh before popping a grape into his mouth.

 

"Now I do have a party to go to tonight, networking and such. It's for some male Americans, so I'll be taking Rikki." Cecelia said, giving Thomas that big grin she usually had when she wanted him to stay late.

 

He gave a groan and stood up, grabbing his bag. "You put the assignments on my desk?"

 

"Got Jay to do it before we left. Thank you so much, Thomas."

 

"Yeah, yeah." He gave a dismissive wave before heading out.

 

On the bike ride over he stopped by his apartment to grab his guitar. Staying late usually meant staying overnight. Might as well make the most of it and practice for the upcoming gig. He gave a nod to Roxie and Dave before heading out. On the way to the factory he wondered about Nick. It had been at least an hour. He hoped if he'd gotten coffee he wasn't still waiting at the office.

 

When he got there he didn't find Nick, he found something worse. As he approached the office it smelled less of lumber and more of flowers. Some other poor sap who hadn't met Tarrin yet must've sent Cecelia a bouquet. When he opened his office doors however, he saw the flowers were for him not her. And it wasn't just a bouquet, it was a forest of roses and tulips and other various flowers. There was an initial moment of shock before Thomas went back to his usual resignation and frustration. This was going to be a long million years, wasn't it?


	2. Soft Gazes

It had been a couple thousand years. It wasn't the worst fate, really. Over-dramatic gestures happened every once in a while sure, but Nick had never been too forward about anything.   Thomas almost missed that though. The forwardness Nick used to have. How comfortable it was. How fun the banter could be. Now he just gets longing stares and doting. Sure there's still some quips every once in a while, but it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel right. He was going to talk to Nick after work, see if he could talk him out of the love potion.

 

For the meantime though, Rikki was brainstorming solutions in his office. She was laying on the ceiling so she'd be out of the way. That didn't stop her from messing with the hanging lights though. The lights wavered around haphazardly as she playing and batted with it like a kitten.

 

"True love's kiss?" She offered.  

 

"You wanna kiss him?" Thomas asked, squinting to try read the document in front of him.  

 

Rikki scoffed. "I'm not his true love..." Thomas rolled his eyes, jumping when Rikki floated down in front of his face. She looked like she just realized something. "What if _you're_ his true love!"  

 

Thomas rolled his eyes once more, looking back down at his documents now that she wasn't playing with his lights he could read it properly now. "Yeah right. I'm as much his true love as Jay is."  

 

"No, seriously? What if this was, like, meant to be this entire time!" She slammed her hands down on his desk. Well there go his documents. Lost to the winds Rikki made and out his broken window. Fluttering into whatever abyss papers in the wind go to. The window was broken thanks to her mind you. Thankfully he had extra copies in his desk. He made them every time he had to print a document, just in case something happened. Something always happens around here. He wasn't doing anything with her around though. Not anymore anyways. There is a very small window with which to be productive with Rikki around, and he'd missed it.

 

"I highly doubt that." He deadpanned, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms.

 

"Why not?" Rikki pouting, sitting cross legged two inches in the air above his desk. Files and sticky notes fluttered with the breeze she gave off.

 

"First of all I'm... Kind of straight."

 

Rikki scoffed. "No one stays straight when you live longer than a million years."

 

Thomas sighed. "Second of all he was... Is? In love with someone else."

 

"Was he?" Rikki's eyes sparked with interest. She was denser than osmium. The way he looked at her, doted over her. It was almost sickening to watch. Now that it's happening to him he didn't see how Rikki could miss it. How much he'd truly cared for her.

 

"Yes he was, and that's all I'm saying about it." Thomas said, thanking whatever deity was listening that his phone rang. "Hello?"

 

"Today was your day off, wasn't it?" It was Nick. Of course it was Nick. "Roxie said left early this morning. You didn't head into work, did you?"

 

"Ah, yeah." Thomas slumped into his chair, ignoring the suggestive eye brow waggles coming from Rikki. "I had some unfinished projects I wanted to get done before monday. I'll be out of here soon though." Or at least he would be if his personal ceiling demon would get back to the ceiling.

 

"Oh... I see." He sounded disappointed.

 

"What's up?"

 

"Oh, I just hate seeing you overworking so much. Between being vice president of an entire company, and the lead in your band... I mean it seems like a lot."

 

"I run on coffee and red bull that's for sure." Thomas scoffed. There was a silence for a moment. Thomas knew Nick was chewing at his lip, trying to figure out a way to help. "Nick?"

 

"Hey, I'm going to take you out tonight." Nick said with his usual calm confidence. "Just you and me, no aggravating friends or stressful situations. We can both forget about work and just relax. Sound good?"

 

Thomas bit his lip. He didn't want to lead Nick on. He'd been doing well the past while in brushing off his advances... But they used to do stuff like this all the time. Being the only two relatively calm ones of the group they used to go out alone every once in a while. Enjoy a scenic view without some sort of explosion. Enjoy a house that stayed clean longer than an hour. Enjoy some wine in their mouths instead of on their shirts. Walk along a beach instead of run away from something. He did need a break. "Okay."

 

"But nothing... Over the top. Like, it's not a date." He said firmly.

 

"Oh, of course not." Nick said, Thomas could hear the smirk in his voice. "Just two guys going to a romantically lit restaurant by the beach. Not like it's going to be sunset when we eat there either." It was always sunset when they ate at their restaurant.

 

"Touche." Thomas sighed. He missed these moments of teasing.

 

"I'll pick you up in an hour." Nick said before hanging up.

 

Thomas sighed and looked at Rikki as he hung up as well. "Get out of my office."

 

"Oooh, does someone have a booty call coming." Rikki grinned, leaning towards Thomas. "I didn't think those were allowed in the workplace."

 

Thomas scoffed, pushing her away. He couldn't hide his grin though. "You know it's not. I need to get my work done before Nick gets here- _to pick me up to go out on a very platonic outing_ \- and you are _very_ distracting."

 

Rikki stuck out her tongue before flying out the window. "Have fun on your date!"

 

"It's not a date!" He yelled after her before grabbing his documents out of his drawer. Time to speed through this and get ready for the...

 

It was a date, wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can never just Leave something for more than 24 hours y'all know this


	3. Totally Not A Date

Okay Thomas, it's not a date. Not a date. You're just showing up at his house so he can take you to this one restaurant where they always give you the patio seats that are the most secluded. At sunset. And he's apparently wearing a fitted suit. Now you feel under-dressed with your usual business casual flannel on. And he's laughing and he's gorgeous. It's not like he rests himself against you comfortably as you walk. When did he start doing that? More importantly why did you retroactively just start noticing he does that? Why does he touch you so much? Not like, in a bad way or anything. Just... Casually. You're touching him a lot too, subconsciously. Holding his arm when you laugh. God, stop it Thomas! Nothing's changed. He just got hit with a lot of love potion and is now sitting across from you and his hair is blowing gently in the wind and his eyeliner looks really good and _his lips look so soft and now you're wondering what his chapstick tastes like- **Oh my god Thomas that's the opposite of not freaking out!**_

 

When Nick reaches over to touch Thomas's hand he snaps out of it. He gave a look of concern. "Are you okay, man?"

 

"Ah, yeah," Thomas snapped his hand back. "How about some wine?" He quickly picked up the wine menu. Upside down. He shuffled it around quickly and gave a nervous laugh before burying his face in it.

 

"I was thinking more a bellini or something..." Nick leaned forward. "Are you sure you're okay?"

 

"Yeah, I-" Wait has anyone actually told him he's under a love spell. "Nick, I have to tell you something." Oh boy. Here it goes."

 

"Uh.... Okay...." Nick raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're not in love with me are you," He joked. _Oh boy._

 

"No..... But you are. In love with me, I mean." Smooth.

 

"Wh- pfft...." Nick sputtered. _Nick_ sputtered. His cheeks turned black, which meant he was blushing. Hard. "No, that's ridiculous. Wh- why would- I mean...." He sighed and shoved his face in his hands and groaned. Thomas patted his head in what was hopefully a reassuring way. "I didn't think you'd figure it out that soon."

 

"I mean you're not really in love... If that helps?"

 

"Of course I'm in love! God you've seen me with Ri, of course you'd notice when I started treating you the same!"

 

"I mean the jungle you sent me instead of coffee was a big sign...." Thomas chuckled lightly. "B-but that's not what I meant. Listen, you got hit with a love potion. When Ezekiel hit you a few hundred years ago he didn't just spill the coffee on you, he spilled a love potion on you too."

 

"That's ridiculous why would _Ezekiel_ have a love potion?"

 

"He wanted to use it Shigeru Miyamoto and all the world leaders so people would love sharks and they wouldn't become endangered."

 

There was a moment of silence before Nick peeked out of his hands. "Yeah, that checks out."

 

"Yeah, so he said there'll be a few years before he can make the antidote and I thought I could handle it until then, but then like... I dunno I felt bad for leading you on or something? Or at least keeping the truth from you for no good reason all these years."

 

"But this is real!" Nick insisted, grabbing Thomas's hand. Oh god, was he crying? There was definitely at least one tear on his face right now. "What I've been feeling all these years has to be real!"

 

"Uh... Look," Thomas took his hand back and grabbed his phone and took out the camera before giving it to Nick. "Look at your eyes. Their usually eerie paleness has, like, black and pink and purple swirls in it sometimes. That's the potion," He said before taking his phone back. "Besides, how do you explain you suddenly being really into me after being in love with Rikki for so long?"

 

"... Moving on?" Nick offered weakly before wiping his face as the waiter came over with their food. "Look, I just.... I don't know. I know this is real, Thomas. _I swear_. I can feel it. I don't think this is just some love potion."

 

"That's just the potion talking," Thomas insisted.

 

"It's not," Nick insisted right back before stabbing his lobster so hard it cracked the plate. Nick sighed and looked at the waiter. "Sorry, I'll pay for that. I just..."

 

"No, I understand," The waiter nodded. "Lovers quarrels happen all the time. Would you like another plate, sir?" Thomas sputtered. _Lovers quarrel???_

 

"No, but a lime daiquiri would be great." The waiter nodded before heading out.

 

"W- wai- we- we're not lovers!" Thomas's protests came out long after the waiter had left. He groaned and picked up his utensils to start eating. He glared at Nick, who simply smiled warmly. Thomas could feel his face getting hot- with anger obviously. He wasn't thinking about how gorgeous and warm everything was from the sunset to the man in front of him. He wasn't thinking about how sincere Nick seemed. Nope, that was all the potion. Nick was just a friend and doing anything right now was technically non-consensual.

 

"Yeah, I'm going to the bathroom don't wait up," Thomas said quietly before getting up and walking to the bathroom as calmly as possible. Once he was there he locked himself in and slid down the door. "Aaaaaaaaaokay. Okay, this isn't real. You know he said it, but that was just the potion. You aren't even into him anyways, Thomas what are you even freaked out about? Well you're freaked out about one of your best friends having developed feelings for you, even if it's fake, and it drastically changing your relationship forever. That's it. Yup. That'll probably do it. It's fine. It's fine. It's _fine_ **.** Just pretend everything's okay. That's worked in the past. Just go out there and pretend he didn't break his plate in half insisting he was in love with you and pretend you're still straight and just... Just fucking chill." Thomas stood up and washed his hands before heading back out.

 

"Hey, sorry," Thomas said quietly before sitting back down.

 

"Um, hey, you're...." Nick leaned over and Thomas held his breath. There was a solid second that felt like hours of freak out as his very good friend reached out for him. What was he doing? Why was it necessary for him to lean over? When did he start smelling so good? "Your collar's funny," he said simply and smoothed Thomas's collar out before sitting back in his seat and continuing to eat as if nothing were wrong. Thomas just stared at him. How could he pretend that whole ordeal didn't happen? Nick was just going about dinner as if nothing happened. _What the fuck_. Nick gave a moan and wiped his mouth. "You should try the lobster here, it's- what... what's up?" Nick asked, finally looking up.

 

"What flavour chapstick do you use?" Thomas blurted out.

 

"Uh..... grapefruit?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "Do you... want some?"

 

"M- n- _nevermind_." Thomas huffed before going back to his food.

**Author's Note:**

> my first fic and its about my own goddamn book


End file.
